Board for carrying a person across snow

Abstract

The disclosure herein is directed toward systems and methods for supporting a person and enabling motion of a person across a surface of snow while satisfying the countervailing requirements of increasing surface area for weight-carrying capacity on soft snow and reducing the opposing forces, like for example drag and friction, in hard snow. More specifically, a snowboard described herein includes an inner edge and an outer edge, and allows the rider to control the amount of board-to-snow contact. This snowboard is configured to improve rider support, increase speed and enhance safety performance.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A snowboard, comprising:
 a board having an upper surface and a lower surface, a first edge and a second edge, and a first and second end,   the upper surface having locations for a first binding and a second binding to allow the bindings to be arranged transverse to a longitudinal axis extending through the first and second ends,   the lower surface having a first and a second rail extending along the longitudinal axis and being separated by a recess extending along the longitudinal axis, the rails and the recess each having a width measured transverse to the longitudinal axis and the width of the recess being greater than the width of each respective rail, and the first and second rails and the recess extending substantially a length of the lower surface, and   the second edge being located at a periphery of the upper surface, and the first edge being located on the lower surface and closer to the longitudinal axis than the second edge,   wherein the first and second rails have surfaces for contacting a snow surface, the first and second rail surfaces being tapered to narrow a thickness of the respective rail from the recess to the first edge of the board.   
     
     
       2. The snowboard according to  claim 1 , wherein a surface of the board between the first edge and the second edge is concave. 
     
     
       3. The snowboard according to  claim 1 , wherein the first edge is made with a first material, and the second edge is made with a second material, and wherein the second material is stiffer than the first material. 
     
     
       4. The snowboard according to  claim 1 , wherein when the boards rests on a flat surface the first edge is in contact with the flat surface, and the second edge is raised above the flat surface. 
     
     
       5. The snowboard according to  claim 4 , wherein the second edge is raised between about 1 mm and 8 mm above the flat surface. 
     
     
       6. The snowboard according to  claim 1 , where the first and second rails have respective interior shoulder walls having an at least 30° inclination from an axis parallel to a beam of the board. 
     
     
       7. The snowboard according to  claim 1 , wherein the first and second rails have a width substantially equal to one quarter the width of the lower surface. 
     
     
       8. The snowboard according to  claim 1 , further comprising
 a binding for gripping a boot of a rider, and   wherein the binding is arranged to position a heel of the boot over one rail and a toe of the boot over a different rail.   
     
     
       9. The snowboard according to  claim 1 , wherein the first and second rails comprise modular bodies for being secured to the lower surface of the board. 
     
     
       10. The snowboard according to  claim 1 , wherein the first and second rails comprise rails integrally formed as part of the lower surface of the board. 
     
     
       11. The snowboard according to  claim 1 , wherein the width of the rails is selected to support a weight of a user, and thereby have a surface of the recess apply a force less than the weight of the user to a snow surface. 
     
     
       12. A method of manufacturing a snowboard, comprising providing a board having an upper surface and a lower surface, a first edge and a second edge, and a first and second end,
 arranging on the upper surface locations for a first binding and a second binding to allow the bindings to be arranged transverse to a longitudinal axis extending through the first and second ends, and   forming on the lower surface a first and a second rail extending along the longitudinal axis and being separated by a recess extending along the longitudinal axis, wherein the rails and the recess each have a width measured transverse to the longitudinal axis and the width of the recess being greater than the width of each respective rail and the first and second rails and the recess extend substantially a length of the lower surface,   wherein the second edge is located at a periphery of the upper surface, and the first edge is located on the lower surface and closer to the longitudinal axis than the second edge, and   wherein the first and second rails have surfaces for contacting a snow surface, the first and second rail surfaces being tapered to narrow a thickness of the respective rail from the recess to the first edge of the board.   
     
     
       13. A snowboard  An apparatus for carrying a person across a surface of snow, comprising:
 a board having an upper surface and a lower surface, a first edge and a second edge, and a first and second end, 
 the upper surface having locations for a first binding and a second binding to allow the bindings to be arranged transverse to a longitudinal axis extending through the first and second ends, 
 the lower surface having a first and a second rail extending along the longitudinal axis at least a portion of a length of the board and being separated by a recess extending along the longitudinal axis, the rails and the recess each having a width measured transverse to the longitudinal axis and the width of the recess being greater than the width of each respective rail, and the first and second rails and the recess extending substantially a length of the lower surface, and the lower surface having first edges and second edges, each of the first and second rails having a respective one of the first edges, each of the second edges disposed at a periphery of the lower surface on a respective side of the longitudinal axis, the lower surface configured such that if the first and second rails rest on a flat surface, the second edges will be displaced further from the flat surface than the first edges, and such that each first edge is a soft edge defined by a first edge portion of the lower surface that will extend away from the flat surface as the first edge portion extends away from the longitudinal axis, 
 each of the second edge edges configured to provide engagement with a snow surface with a first coefficient of friction, and 
 each of the first edge edges configured to provide engagement with the snow surface with a second coefficient of friction when the second edge is not engaged with the snow surface, wherein the second coefficient of friction is lower than the first coefficient of friction, 
 wherein the first and second rails have first and second rail surfaces, respectively, for contacting a snow surface, the first and second rail surfaces being tapered each having a concave portion to narrow a thickness of the respective rail from the recess to between the respective first edge and the respective second edge of the board. 
 
     
     
       14. A board for carrying a person across a surface of snow, comprising
 an upper surface and a lower surface, with a centerline extending longitudinally along a length of the board, and being sized for supporting the person traveling across the surface of snow,   a first and a second end, and   a first and a second side each of which extends between the upper surface and the lower surface,   the lower surface including a first snow contact surface disposed laterally from the centerline on a first side of the centerline and a second snow contact surface disposed laterally from the centerline on a second side of the centerline opposite the first side of the centerline, including first and second inner edges disposed on the first and second sides of the centerline respectively, and including first and second outer edges disposed on the first and second sides of the centerline respectively,   the first and second inner edges being spaced laterally away from the first and second outer edges, respectively, towards the centerline, and   each of the first and second outer edges being located at a respective peripheral edge of the board,   wherein the lower surface includes first and second s-shaped surfaces extending from the first and second snow contact surfaces to the first and second outer edges respectively, each of the first and second inner edges comprising an inner-edge portion of the first s-shaped surface and the second s-shaped surface respectively, such that a thickness of the board diminishes from the first and second snow contact surfaces toward the first and second outer edges respectively and such that if the first and second snow contact surfaces rest on a flat surface, then the first and second outer edges will be disposed further above the flat surface than the first and second inner edges, and   wherein the first and second snow contact surfaces comprise a first material, the first and second inner edges comprise the first material, and the first and second outer edges comprise a second material that is different from the first material.   
     
     
       15. The board of claim 14, wherein the first s-shaped surface includes a concave portion and a flat portion between the first inner edge and the first outer edge. 
     
     
       16. The board of claim 14, wherein the first outer edge comprises an outer-edge portion of the lower surface, and a portion of the first side extends from the outer-edge portion of the lower surface. 
     
     
       17. The board of claim 14, wherein the second material has a higher coefficient of friction than the first material. 
     
     
       18. The board of claim 14, wherein the second material comprises one of a metal or a rigid plastic material. 
     
     
       19. The board of claim 14 wherein the first material comprises polyethylene. 
     
     
       20. The board of claim 14, wherein the first and second s-shaped surfaces are configured such that if the first and second snow contact surfaces rest on a flat surface, then the first and second outer edges will be disposed between 1 mm and 8 mm above the flat surface. 
     
     
       21. The board of claim 14, wherein the board has an hourglass shape with the first and second sides being curved inward toward the longitudinal axis. 
     
     
       22. The board of claim 14, wherein the board comprises a snowboard or a ski. 
     
     
       23. A method of manufacturing a board for carrying a person across a surface of snow, comprising
 forming the board to include a first and a second end, an upper surface and a lower surface, with a centerline extending longitudinally along a length of the board, and a first side and a second side each extending between the upper surface and the lower surface,   forming the lower surface to include a first snow contact surface disposed laterally from the centerline on a first side of the centerline and a second snow contact surface disposed laterally from the centerline on a second side of the centerline opposite the first side of the centerline, to include first and second outer edges disposed on the first and second sides of the centerline respectively and disposed at respective peripheral edges of the board, and to include first and second inner edges disposed on the first and second sides of the centerline respectively and spaced laterally away from the first and second outer edges and towards the centerline, and   forming the lower surface to include first and second s-shaped surfaces extending from the first and second snow contact surfaces to the first and second outer edges respectively, each of the first and second inner edges comprising an inner-edge portion of the first s-shaped surface and the second s-shaped surface respectively, such that a thickness of the board diminishes from the first and second snow contact surfaces toward the first and second outer edges respectively and such that if the first and second snow contact surfaces rest on a flat surface, then the first and second outer edges will be disposed further above the flat surface than the first and second inner edges,   wherein the first and second snow contact surfaces comprise a first material, the first and second inner edges comprise the first material, and the first and second outer edges comprise a second material that is different from the first material.   
     
     
       24. The method of claim 23, wherein the second material has a higher coefficient of friction than the first material. 
     
     
       25. The method of claim 23, wherein the first s-shaped surface includes a concave portion and a flat portion between the first inner edge and the first outer edge. 
     
     
       26. The method of claim 23, wherein the first and second s-shaped surfaces are formed such if with the first and second snow contact surfaces rest on a flat surface, then the first and second outer edges will be disposed between 1 mm and 8 mm above the flat surface. 
     
     
       27. The method of claim 23, wherein the board comprises a snowboard or a ski.